Customer Reviews

Tell Me More Italian Performance Version 9 (10 Levels) [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I would highly recommend you try the free trial before you purchase this product. It is not at all what I expected, and I don't want the same thing to happen to someone else. This product basically just talks at you. It doesn't actually TEACH you anything. The first activity you go through is one where the speaker on the computer says a sentence in Italian, and under it are two possible responses in Italian, and you have to pick one. To the left is a picture. However, the picture is very vague, and doesn't really give you any hints as to what the sentences mean. You choose a response (remember, the program has not taught you the words yet), and you go on to the next group of sentences. In the end, you realize that both of the sentences in each part worked as a valid response. What I'm saying is this: it tries to teach you the language by immersing you in it, like you would if you were in Italy. The same goes for the puzzles ( crosswords, word searches ). The hints are english words, and you have to plug in the Italian translation for the answer. Again, these words were NEVER taught to you. At first, I was confused and I thought I must have been using the software incorrectly. I thought I was in some practice portion of the software instead of the learning portion. Nope. This is how Tell Me More expects you to learn. I called the company that makes it, and talked to several people that have never even used the software, therefore could not tell me how it worked. Finally, I talked to somebody who simply told me that you are supposed to "learn as you go along." Wow. Thanks a lot. I went to Borders that night and bought Instant Immersion for $50 and learned way more in a fraction of the time than I did with Tell Me More. I DO think that Tell Me More would be beneficial for people who really want to become fluent in the language instead of just learning some vocab to get them around. However, you really need to build a foundation in the language FIRST, before you even bother with using the Tell Me More program. That being said, buy the $50 version first and see how it goes. Once you have built a solid foundation and have a pretty wide vocabulary built up, then and only then maybe try Tell Me More so you can get the language down pat.

Thorough and detailed, also fun and easy, feedback on pronunciation: an excellent package overall. You get what you pay for, by and large, and Rocket Italian is junk, Pimsleur is pretty good, and this is excellent.